Residents Wary Of Moonefield Development

November 09, 1989|By MARC R. TURPIN Staff Writer

SMITHFIELD — The developer who hopes to build "affordable" homes in the Moonefield area said Wednesday the homes would not be financed under subsidized housing plans for low-income families, as some Moonefield residents fear.

"There is a vast need for housing for young and just-starting-out career people in the area," said Cheryl Thompson, president of Bayside Inc., a subdivision development company based in Gloucester. "I hope to build homes that are economically feasible for middle-class young people. There will be absolutely no subsidized financing at all."

About 60 members of the Moonefield Civic Association appeared at Tuesday's Town Council meeting in disapproval of Thompson's plan, although Thompson's company has not finalized any land purchases with several real estate companies that have undeveloped land for sale in Moonefield.

The president of the residents' group, Willis Watts, said residents fear Thompson's company will build homes worth half the value of existing homes. Watts said home prices in Moonefield range from $75,000 to $250,000. Lower-priced homes would reduce the value of current residents' homes, he said.

Thompson maintained that her plan would not affect nearby residents. She said she hopes to buy 48 lots between Watson Drive and Riverside Drive in Moonefield Park and "develop a whole subdivision" with a "self-contained village-like atmosphere."

Thompson said the homes would probably be sold from the "upper 50s to low 60s," or about $60,000 each, and range in size from 1,100 to 1,400 square feet of living space.

Thompson said the homes would be sold through "straight" financing programs such as the Veterans Administration and Federal Housing Administration 30-year home ownership plans to families with combined annual income of about $24,000.

"It's affordable housing only because they fit between that income bracket," Thompson said. "The average cost of a home in Isle of Wight County is $80,000 to $90,000. Take the average middle-class couple in their 20s and see how they can qualify for that mortgage payment. It's almost impossible."

Thompson said she would like to meet with Moonefield residents to explain her plan.

On Wednesday, Town Council member Robert Hart called the Moonefield matter a "tough one," and said he would need to examine the issue further with town officials. Hart, however, said he would support blocking any sale of land to a developer who wanted to build homes outside of existing deed restrictions for the area.

"I don't see a problem with putting affordable housing in with more expensive housing, but if they have restrictive covenants, there is a problem," Hart said.

Watts has said that many Moonefield residents have restrictive agreements in their deeds, though the restrictions vary within the different sections of the subdivision. For example, he said, one section calls for homes no smaller than 1,500 square feet.